We are a group of Public School Districts in Florida that collectively purchase food and supplies needed to produce school breakfasts and lunches each school day. Our purchasing power has reached over $200 million per year with the addition of our most recent members.
Mission
“The mission of the P.O.W.E.R. Buying Group (PBG) is to cooperatively procure high quality, reasonably priced products and services for child nutrition programs to enhance learning in member school districts.” Click on “Bylaws” to see our vision and shared beliefs.
The PBG purchases through one Request for Proposal (RFP) which was awarded to US Foodservice, Inc. who was the successful bidder. They distribute food and supplies via five warehouses in Florida and Alabama. P.O.W.E.R. stands for “Purchasing Organization with Educational Results".
Member Districts Reach 38 of 67 in State
As of July 2009, our district memberships have increased to 38 out of the 67 public school districts in Florida. These districts operate approximately 1,500 schools and serve close to 140 million meals each year. Click on “Member Profiles” to see all member districts and information about their programs.
Member Benefits
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More buying power by being part of the largest Buying Group for School Meals in the nation.
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Less district time needed to write bids. The current bid is in place for 5 years.
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More networking with other directors and supervisors during meetings and conference calls.
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Access to a paid Consultants to do work that will benefit all members.
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Access to “Members Only” section of website. Section will soon include the sharing of innovative ideas by members, industry trends and a Chat blog
New Member Information The Buying Group will not add any new members during the 2009-2010.
Industry Utilization of This Website
Industry partners that desire to market to PBG members can do so in a number of ways, however,
NO NEW ITEMS WILL BE ADDED TO THE BID UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
At the October 7, 2009 meeting of the POWER Buying Group, the Members of the POWER Buying Group collectively agreed that no new items will be added to the bid until further notice.
Please note that vendors are encouraged to continue to show products to individual districts for review and possible consideration as a tested and approved equivalent item or as a new item to be considered when requesting competitive pricing for the future.
A form will be made available in the near future which Vendors may use to request that they be added to the list of manufacturers, vendors, brokers and suppliers that will be receiving notice to seek new items again for the 2010-2011 School Year.
Thank you for your support of Child Nutrition and for your desire to do business with the Power Buying Group.
